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By Mike Donoghue
Vermont News First
SOUTH BURLINGTON – Dover, N.H. Police Chief William N. Breault was named as the new police chief for the city of South Burlington on Tuesday afternoon.
City Manager Jessie Baker said Breault will start at $160,000 a year and be on probation for 6 months when he arrives in October. He does not have a contract, she said.
Breault joined the Dover Police Department in 1998, earning awards and recognition throughout his career before becoming chief of police in 2018, Baker said.
The manager said she did not know Breault’s age.
He is the permanent replacement for Chief Shawn Burke, who resigned in March to return to Burlington to serve as its interim police chief for two years.
Breault will be introduced to the local news media at 11:45 a.m. Friday at the city police station.
This will be the only opportunity to meet Chief Breault before his official start date, Oct. 6, the city said in its announcement.
During the lengthy hiring process the city did not provide a chance either to the police department employees or city residents to meet any applicants.
Breault was among 14 applicants for the job during the nationwide search. The list was whittled to eight by the city’s consultant and five were picked for interviews with the local search committee created by Baker.
Three were selected for the final assessment sessions, but only Breault and South Burlington Deputy Police Chief Sean Briscoe were willing to show, a spokesman said.
Interviews were held Tuesday and Wednesday last week and the final pick was left in the hands of Baker.
The search process had a few hiccups, including the removal of the Police Union president by the city from the screening committee for unknown reasons. The city also did not have the South Burlington Police Union represented during the final assessment last week.
Also Col. Matthew Birmingham, director of the Vermont State Police, selected to represent police withdrew from the search committee. He is a longtime city resident.
Former Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad was briefly considered for the post, but after it became public, either the city pulled the plug or he withdrew. Murad was named this week Interim Vermont Commissioner of Corrections at $158,000 a year.
Until Breault arrives full-time, Acting Chief Briscoe will continue to lead the department and is expected to return to his role as Deputy Police Chief.
The city issued a statement on behalf of Breault that said in part, that he was grateful to have “the opportunity to lead the dedicated and exceptional staff of the South Burlington Police Department and to serve a community that values public safety as a top priority.”
The statement added, “I am committed to fostering communication and collaboration within the community, aiming to reinforce the department’s role as a positive resource that continues to provide the high level of services that the community expects.”
It was unknown whether Breault, his wife Joan and their two sons will be required to live in South Burlington.
Dover, N.H., has a population of over 33,000, with 54 sworn police officers, and is immediately adjacent to the communities of Durham, Portsmouth, and Kittery.
By comparison South Burlington is a city of about 21,000 residents, but that number mushrooms with shoppers, tourists, hotels and the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport.
South Burlington Police are authorized 40 sworn officers, but only have 34 spots filled. The department also has 10 civilian employees that are mostly used to operate a modern 24-hour emergency dispatch center for police, fire and rescue and to maintain records.
The city said Breault holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and a Master of Public Administration, but the city’s announcement did not list where and when.
He is a 2018 graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy.
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Categories: Law Enforcement
Lord knows that as with most jobs of this type, there are no Vermonters that are qualified (woke enough?) to meet tha standards that the state and local boards/departments set .
I was thinking the same line. He will find out soon when he starts incarcerating those who should be. He will also learn exactly how big a failure our state judicial folks are,
the incompetence of Chittenden County’s elected States’ Attorney, and the Supreme
Court if he is around long enough to see that side show.
Folks we are in dire straits. It does not take a PHD to see the mess created in once a very respectable City and the outlying areas of Burlington.
I respect MR Finnie, and all of his service to the State and his community he resides in. It is a shame however that native Vermonters have to endure the changes all of these carpetbaggers brought here from away, wherever that might be.
Another election with the same push as last time should eliminate the core of this festering wound that has been thrust upon us.
We need every red blooded freedom loving (Ethan Allen type) who is eligible to vote in the next election to do just that.
We have an opportunity to fix the school system , from the damage Act 60 created,
Let’s get the right folks elected to bring about the changes needed, and retire the ones who in the initial days of drum beating for Act 60’s passing into law: Were saying, “It is time Towns like Rutland Town paid up”! This kind of messaging only worked to make funding schools harder, and more costly with less quality return
and a much lower public school enrollment.
I am a long ways from where this message started, but I believe it needs to be said.
James B Hall
Center Rutland, VT
They are not looking for someone to change the course of direction that is for sure!
You don’t want to hire from within, because they know the problems! You want to hire outside to push your agenda! Maybe a recruit from Brazil, Cuba, or our sister cities in Venezuela and Russia?
As a friend of mine in the legal world used to say, “an expert is someone who lives more than 50 miles away and has pictures”. Putting retreads on the car isn’t the same as new tires.
Jessie Baker is a nutty DEI hire clueless bureaucrat feel good nincompoop administrator dunce. I’m being kind here.